The Palmetto Regional's New Location

[SteveGPage]

What a great event this was!

I would like to first thank Mr. Jack Moore and the Palmetto Regional Committee for such a great event! We look forward to heading south again!

Thank you to the dedicated volunteers, judges and referees! There will always be "week one" issues that pop up, but you handled those issues quickly and efficiently! This was one of the smoothest events I've ever attended!

I want to congratulate the winning alliance 11, 245, and 2187 -

M.O.R.T - Mort, Mort, Mort!!!

You showed everyone how this game is played! I was thrilled we made it to the finals to face off on opposites of the glass - but hope someday we will be on the same side of the glass with you all!

To our alliance partners - 3284 (RoHAWKtics!) and 401 (Hokie Guard!) - you were both amazing partners and did everything we asked of you! We fell a bit short, but it was a blast to play alongside of you! We were honored to have you!

One last shout out to 4451 - ROBOTZ Garage! I know that you will climb higher and higher in years to come!

For those of you who have additional competitions - Good luck!

See you in St. Louis!!!

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by SoccerTaco

One moment that impressed me from off the playing field...
With all three of our teams being large, by the time the last of our kids made their way down to get the Finalist medal, the venue had run out of the medals. A little while later after we were all back up in the stands, one of the RoboBees came up with an armful of medals for those kids on our team that did not get one. Not sure who all gave up theirs so our kids could have one, but that was very classy.

Nice! Here is the latest FRC blog post on the subject of medals and pins at events. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...s-and-trophies

[SteveGPage]

Originally Posted by RoboMom

Nice! Here is the latest FRC blog post on the subject of medals and pins at events. http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...s-and-trophies

I was so proud of our kids! When they found out that there were not enough medals for our alliance partner, almost every single one of them pulled theirs off to give it to them! In the end, we had enough to give them from just the mentors, so all the kids were able to keep theirs.

[JohnFogarty]

Of course the first thing I'd like to do is thank 2059 (The Hitchhikers), and 3196 (Team Spork) for being such great alliance partners. We enjoyed the run with you guys!

Secondly I'd like to thank the Palmetto Regional planning committee because out of my 5 years in the FRC program this has been the best regional venue I've seen.

Of course team 1102 will be considering highly attending SCRIW III this year with an upgraded version of our robot. It has been one of our most successful competitions to date with our very first top 8 seeding finish after qualifications. It is unfortunate that we can not afford another FRC regional this season because if we followed our past chain of success we could have done even better at our second regional.

I'll still take the fact that we were the only team scoring all 3 frisbees in the high goal autonomously during qualifications match 1.

Well, I'm off to work with FTC 3864 to prepare them for the South Carolina FTC Championship in 3 weeks, and you might see me around at Peachtree Week 3. That isn't confirmed yet, but it might happen.

[MikeE]

Our team got back to Massachusetts in the early hours of Sunday after an exciting time in South Carolina.

Firstly I'd like to join the voices applauding the choice of Myrtle Beach convention center. It was an outstanding venue: the pits were very spacious, the separate entrances for red & blue alliances made for easy flow of robots onto and off of the field, and proper seating in the stands made life much more comfortable for our scouts.

I'd also like to give a shout out to all the volunteers, especially the inspectors who did an awesome job with a maximum field of 65 teams in a week 1 regional and the practice field staff who were exceptional at keeping it both a safe and productive space.

Congratulations to all teams who performed well, especially 836, 4451 and the winning alliance of 11, 245 & 2187. It was a pleasure to be located between both Mort & Adambots in the pits and to see up close how well you prepare for each match. It's not a coincidence that the results reflected this.

Our robot did not perform as well as we hoped or expected, but our drive team did get plenty of practice removing a tenuously balanced robot from the top of the pyramid as we discovered that gravity is shockingly similar in South Carolina and New England. We worked out most of the gremlins from our machine and should have a very reliable climber ready for the Boston campaign.
Finally, despite our best efforts we proved to ourselves that it's hard to trip the main breaker just by adding more and more
colored lights

[team1102a]

Originally Posted by mandrews281

He goes crazy with joy. He starts jumping around "we won!!, we won!". It's like he just won the finals on Einstein!! His team mates are trying to unplug their drivers station and he jumps up on their back, "we won, we won". By this time, I heading to retrieve our cart; but I can't stand to watch this kid not get any love back. So I hold out my arms for a hug. He takes a couple of steps towards me and JUMPS into my arms. I have my arms wrapped around his waist and his legs are wrapped around my waist. I think there were some more "we won"s in there too.
.......

They had lost a couple of close matches, but had also lost a few blow outs. This was their last match of the season and they had WON IT!! The kid had won on Einstein!

I doubt anyone from 4748 reads Chief Delphi regularly, and I still don't know his name. But the joy in this kid just brought tears to my eyes as I read this to my wife, and it has made my season.

Well written.
This is why i volunteer as well. Try to make 1 person at a time create a memory and inspiration.

[kjohnson]

This was 1610's first trip to Palmetto and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The Myrtle Beach Convention Center is an excellent venue with great seating and allowed for spacious pits.

Thanks to 1772 The Brazilian Trailblazers for picking us to be on your alliance and to 1287 Aluminum Assault for completing an awesome alliance. Together we were able to win some close quarterfinal matches and defeat the #1 seed. Good luck to 1772 in Orlando and Western Canada, and to 1287 in North Carolina.

To 1648, 2363, 539, and 2914, what a set of quarterfinal matches! They couldn't have been any closer. Thanks for the great competition.

Congratulations to 11, 245, and 2187 on the regional win. 11 and 245 has two of the best shooters in Palmetto and made a great alliance. 2187 was a great 2nd pick to help the #3 alliance go undefeated.

Special thanks to everyone who offered assistance after our problems in SF 2-2. Turns our that our Digital Sidecar failed near the beginning of the match. We were able to get it replaced and get everything back working before bagging up. We look forward to competing in Richmond in two weeks.

[mdstjohn]

Congrats to all the teams that traveled near and far to the Palmetto Regional. I had a great 3 days working with the teams getting them inspected (finding spare parts and paint for some) and out on the floor.

To the Mentors, Students and Parents: Keep working hard and having fun doing what you do. The end result will be an enriched life for everyone involved.

Michael D. St.John
Palmetto Regional Robot Inspector 2012, 2013
CTO and Tech Fellow, SAIC

[Anupam Goli]

Recorded some videos of 1648's matches. Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Y2OnGABzIyCjUT

Team 1648 had a blast and is looking at improving so we can have another attempt at a blue banner at peachtree!

[DRH2o]

Originally Posted by mandrews281

I just have to share my favourite moment from Palmetto. It's our last match of the qualifying and we (281) are playing with 1598, and 4748 against teams 435/3140/3506. It's a tough match for us (final seedings: 24th/30th/64th vs 4th/46th/21th). We play some tough defense on 435, 1598 does our scoring, and I have no clue what 4748 did. As the match ends, the unofficial score shows 25-14 our favor. .

This was a fun macth for us to watch from the stands. We had written this one off to a loss, but thanks to your tough defense our guys were able to score enough to pull out an upset. We have made enough improvements now that we should be a contender at the VA Regional.

I am posting video of this match from the prospective of our loader -- he scored two this match

http://youtu.be/5VRJMKfxOwY

[Wetzel]

2914 had a good time down south at Palmetto. We took our arm off Thursday when we realized it had a fundamental flaw, and put on a ten point hanger, and managed to implement a 4 point autonomous by Saturday. When we took our arm off on Thursday, we thought we were sunk as we were at that point a box on wheels, but the students dug in and got to work. We are much more prepared now for the DC regional.

1648, 2363, sorry we couldn't do just that little bit more to break the tie and move on.

1610 thanks for sharing your scouting system with us, we look forward to implementing it at DC.

Wetzel

[Anupam Goli]

Wetzel,

The moment I saw 2914's robot on Friday, I knew it was going to be the top defender in the regional. Your drivetrain was one that was simple, yet very effective. I still recall the extremely defensive match where your robot stopped our robot in its tracks. You guys were number 1 on my personal pick list for the serpentine round of the draft. Your defense in the last match was one of the reasons we were able to tie in the first place. I wish you guys the best of luck at DC, and hopefully your defensive ability and effective drivetrain will be valued extremely high up there.

[am.wenig]

The Platypi had an awesome time at Palmetto! It was our first time attending the event and we absolutely loved it. And of course with every great regional, there are plenty of people to thank.

3196 - For being super awesome and picking up our robot when we fell from level two. That was extremely gracious of you.

281 - You guys are always a pleasure to compete with! The Platypi are such huge fans of yours and it was great to be at another regional with you all.

There's at least one other team that lent us parts after our robot fell but I can't for the life of me remember who. But thank you so much!

Huge congratulations to the RoboBees on Chairman's! I had the pleasure of talking with a couple of you and I hope to see you all in St. Louis!

[mandrews281]

Originally Posted by am.wenig

281 - You guys are always a pleasure to compete with! The Platypi are such huge fans of yours and it was great to be at another regional with you all.

Thanks very much. We love you guys. You are doing some amazing things up there and fully deserved the Engineering Inspiration Award. Congratulations and good luck in St. Louis.

[SteveGPage]

Originally Posted by am.wenig

Huge congratulations to the RoboBees on Chairman's! I had the pleasure of talking with a couple of you and I hope to see you all in St. Louis!

Thanks! Congratulations on the EI award! We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!